Effect of sleep ambient music on sleep quality and mental health in college students: a self-controlled study.

To verify the effect of sleep ambient music intervention (SAMI) on sleep quality and mental status of college students, and to further explore the minimum effective duration of SAMI, this study was designed as a pre-and post-intervention self-controlled exploratory study. Participants were subjected to a one-week no-intervention test, then 4 weeks of music intervention followed. Subjective sleep quality data were collected using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI); objective sleep quality data were collected with Actigraphy; and mental status data were collected using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). Data were analyzed and processed using mixed-effects models and repeated measures. The results showed that compared with the no-intervention week, college students' subjective sleep quality, objective sleep onset latency (SOL), trait anxiety, and depression symptom were reduced at week 1; week 2; week 3; week 4 under SAMI; state anxiety of college students at week 3 and week 4 under SAMI were also reduced. And there were differences in sleep quality among college students of different genders too. Compared with females, males had worse sleep efficiency (SE), shorter total sleep time (TST), and more awaking times (AT). In addition, 3 days was the minimum effective length for SAMI to shorten objective SOL, and 2 days was the minimum effective length to shorten the subjective SOL of college students. The findings of this study suggest that SAMI can improve subjective sleep quality, shorten objective SOL, and reduce anxiety and depression in college students. Interventions for more than 3 days had a significant effect on shortening SOL and long-term effects seemed to emerge after 3 weeks.

C1q and tumor necrosis factor-related protein 3 is present in human cord blood and is associated with fetal growth.

BACKGROUND: To determine the presence of C1q and tumor necrosis factor-related protein 3 (CTRP3) in cord blood and its relationship with fetal growth among Chinese newborns. METHODS: This pilot study recruited 126 infants (small for gestational age [SGA], n=34; appropriate for gestational age [AGA], n=60; large for gestational age [LGA], n=32); cord blood CTRP3 levels were measured, and fetal growth parameters were collected. RESULTS: Median (25-75th percentile) CTRP3 levels in the SGA, AGA, and LGA groups were 297.2 (236.4-360.2), 297.5 (261.0-369.9), and 368.6 (298.5-507.1) ng/ml, respectively (P=0.01). LGA infants had higher CTRP3 levels than AGA infants (multiple linear regression analysis; P=0.01). The CTRP3 levels were positively correlated with birth weight (r=0.25, P<0.01), Ponderal index (r=0.28, P<0.01), and placental weight (r=0.20, P=0.03) in the total study population. In the subgroup analysis, CTRP3 levels were negatively correlated with birth length z scores (r=-0.39, P=0.03) and were positively correlated with the Ponderal index (r=0.43, P=0.02) only in the SGA group; no other significant correlations were observed. The CTRP3 levels were similar between the sexes (P=NS). CONCLUSIONS: CTRP3 is present in cord blood and might be involved in fetal growth.

Relationship between human cord blood adropin levels and fetal growth.

Adropin is a recently identified peptide and participates in the regulation of energy homeostasis and vascular function. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between human cord blood adropin levels and fetal growth. A total of 159 newborns [preterm delivery (PTD), n=72; term delivery, n=87] were recruited. Adropin levels in cord blood were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits. Clinical information on fetal growth was collected. Adropin levels in PTD babies (median, 2028; 25th-75th, 1413-2484pg/ml) were lower than those in term delivery babies (median, 2305; 25th-75th, 1960-2684pg/ml, P=0.01). Birth weight and length z score, Ponderal index, placental length, breadth, thickness, surface area, volume and density were not significantly correlated to adropin concentrations in term delivery group. However, we found adropin concentrations were significantly correlated to gestational age at birth (Spearman's correlation coefficient=0.35, P<0.01) and placental weight (Spearman's correlation coefficient=0.24, P=0.04) in PTD group. We also found that boys had lower adropin levels than girls in PTD group (P=0.01). When the analysis was extended to the whole group (PTD and term deliveries combined), the results were similar to those for PTD group alone. After adjusting for maternal age and newborn's sex, every 100pg/ml increase of adropin concentration was significantly associated with a decreased risk of PTD (odds ratio, 0.95; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-0.99). Our study showed that cord blood adropin levels were positively correlated with gestational age and placental weight but not with other fetal growth parameters.